SD-WAN for Single Site VoIP

If your business is currently having issues with its network infrastructure, you may want to consider an SD-WAN solution. SD-WAN assesses the quality of each of your connections and routes traffic through the best path based on specified rules. Read more to learn how your company can benefit from SD-WAN to optimize VoIP quality.

What is SD-WAN?

Software-defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) is a technology applied to WAN connections including 4G, LTE or internet to connect enterprise networks.

What is the Difference Between WAN and SD-WAN?

Traditional WAN solutions used dedicated MPLS circuits to help connect people at a branch to applications hosted on servers in the data center, incorporating public and leased lines. Since SD-WAN uses the cloud, MPLS circuits are no longer needed.

What Are the Benefits of SD-WAN?

One of the biggest benefits of using SD-WAN is that it manages several types of connections. If your business is using broadband internet, LTE, and MPLS for connectivity, SD-WAN will manage them all together. Below are more advantages of using SD-WAN.

• Increased security: the architecture used in SD-WAN distributes security at the branch level. Data doesn’t need to relay to the data center or headquarters, providing extra security protection.
• Prioritization: SD-WAN prioritizes critical applications throughout the WAN and simplifies QoS. Since SD-WAN monitors traffic in real-time, calls don’t compete with other forms of traffic. This also helps improve audio quality.
• Jitter Buffering: with VoIP calls, voice packets travel through different routes, often arriving at different times. SD-WAN uses jitter buffering when needed to collect voice packets then deliver them in order, ensuring quality.
• Forward error correction: FEC also called channel coding helps reduce any errors on noisy channels by sending redundant data. This technique helps reduce voice packet loss and errors in VoIP networks.
• Reduced circuit costs: with SD-WAN, you have the option to eliminate MPLS circuits.

Many businesses today are implementing SD-WAN and eliminating MPLS costs entirely and sticking to a broadband internet connection– which works well with SD-WAN.

Thinking About SD-WAN Technology?

There are several SD-WAN solutions available, with some focusing on WAN hardware, and others not. If you’re interested in buying an SD-WAN device for your business, or have questions for America’s Phone Guys about SD-WAN or VoIP in general, contact us! We’d love to help!